Continuous rotary carton perforating machine



Dec. 18, 1956 K. 1.. CRABTREE CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE l5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 17, 1954 Dec. 18, 1956 K. L. CRABTREE 2,774,427

CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1954 15 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 18, 1956 K. CRABTREE 2,774,427

CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1954 13 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ill! INVENTOR KENNETH L CRABT REE Has ATTORNEYS Dec. 18, 1956 K. CRABTREE CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE l3 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 17, 1954 Fig. 4

Dec. 18, 1956 K. L. CRABTREE 2,77

CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1954 13 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 18, 1956 K. 1.. CRABTREE 2,774,427

CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1954 13 Sheets-Sheet 6 w w 7 n 70 l/ /6 O 64 ea $4 I k I g: Y 62 #55 56 l\ I"'"\ I 1" A I I m, I 22 22 INVENTOR KENNETH CRABTREE Dec. 18, 1956' CRABTREE 2,774,427

CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE Filed March 1'7, 1954 13 Sheets-Sheet 7 a IVENTOR.

.- KENNETH E. CRTEi Dec. 18, 1956 K. 1.. CRABTREE 2,774,427

CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFQRATING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1954 1;: Sheets-Sheet 8 v I F7 I V I I KENNETH L. @AMREE IN VEN TOR.

Dec. 18, 1956 K. CRABTREE l5 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed March 17, 1954 Dec. 18, 1956 K. 1.. CRABTREE CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE l3 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed March 17, 1954 Dec. 18, 1956 K. L. CRABTREE 7 CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE Fiied March 17, 1954 13 Sheets-Sheet 11 INVEINTOR. KENNETH L.CRABTREE Hus ATTORNEYS Dec. 18, 1956 K. CRABTREE 2,774,427 CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE CONTINUOUS ROTARY l3 Shee Filed March 17, 1954 y INVENTOR. KENNETH L. CRABTREE Dec. 18, 1956 K. L. CRABTREE ,77

CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING MACHINE Filed March 1'7, 1954 13 Sheets-Sheet 13 INVENTOR. KENNETH L-. CRABTREE portion 12.

United States Patent CONTINUOUS ROTARY CARTON PERFORATING NACIHNE Kenneth L. Crabtree, Fairfield, Maine, assignor to Keycs Fibre Company, Portland, Maine, a corporation of Maine Application March 17, 1954, Serial No. 416,873

15 Claims. (Cl. 164-99) This invention relates to perforating machines and particularly to perforating machines for providing a perforated line on a container or carton.

The particular type of container with which this invention is primarily concerned is the thick paper or cardboard type which can be used in unitary form or which may be formed into segments each of which can be used separately as a small container.

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a novel perforating machine and method for use with light-weight cartons that are awkward to handle and properly guide because of their lightness.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a machine embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a detailed top plan view of the lower portion of the front section of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 some of the parts being removed in the interest of clarity,

Fig. 3 is a similar top plan view of the rear portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a partial section of the machine of Fig. 1 with the work feed and unloading elements not shown,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the driving mechanism of the machine of Fig. 1,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view of some of the teeth of the upper gear shown in Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a top plan view showing a portion of the feeding mechanism of the machine of Fig. 1,

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 9 with some associated elements also illustrated,

Fig. 11 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section, of the work-removing mechanism of the apparatus of Fig. 1, taken on line 11-11 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 12 is a top plan view of a carton that can be perforated on the machine of Fig. 1,

Fig. 13 is a top plan view showing the carton of Fig. 12 in closed position, and

Fig. 14 is a side elevational view of the perforating elements of the machine of Fig. 1.

Referring more specifically to the description and drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a frame generally designated 10 comprising an upper standard 11 and a lower base The standard and base are preferably, although not necessarily, made of angle bar construction.

Rotatably positioned between bearings 14 and 16 on base 12, is a shaft 18. And desired type of drive means 1 may be used to rotate the shaft, a drive sprocket 19 being here illustrated'as connected to the shaft, this sprocket being, in turn, connected through a chain drive to a drive sprocket 20 driven by actuating means, not shown. Centrally mounted on shaft 18 is a drum 21 and on this drum 2,774,427 Patented Dec. 18, 1956 "ice as best shown in Fig. 4, is provided a plurality of male dies 22, here shown as being four in number, with each die being ninety degrees offset from its adjacent dies. Each of these dies has a top configuration shaped to receive the pre-formed cartons constituting the workpieces to be perforated. In addition, each of the dies 22 is mounted on a platen 24 through which extends a plurality of adjusting screws 26, these screws being positioned to support a group of blocks 28 set in an elongated recess extending centrally through the length of the die. Each of the screws 26 is, itself, held in place by a set screw such as indicated at 30 in Fig. 6. Positioned in a central recess in the die 22 immediately above the blocks 28 are a plurality of knives 32 best shown in Figs. 5 and 14, the cutting edges of the knives extending radially outward from the top surfaces of the die by an amount equal to the thickness of the carton 33 which forms the workpiece. The blocks 28 act, in effect, as a broadened portion of each knife to provide a bearing area for the adjusting screws 26. Ventilating openings 27 are shown as provided in the blocks 28 and in depending bar 29 in which the adjusting screws are threadedly received. The knives are held in any radial position of adjustment by clamp screws 34; note Fig. 6. A flange 36 as shown in Fig. 5, is provided at opposite sides of each platen 24 and fixedly mounted on each of these flanges is a hollow bushing 38 which is provided for a purpose to be hereinafter described. A gear 40 is mounted at one end of the shaft 18 outwardly of the frame 10.

Rot-atably positioned in bearings 42 on the standard 11 is a second shaft 44, above and parallel with shaft 18. The shaft 44 is provided with a pair of spaced wheels or discs 46 and 48 between which there are suspended a pair of diametrically opposed platens 50 and 52. These platens are pivotally secured to the discs by trunnions such as shown at 54 and 56 positioned in bearings formed on arms 51 and 53 secured to the discs. Secured to each of the platens 50 and 52 is a female die 58.

Since the platens 50 and 52 and their associated die members are similar to each other, the description of one will suffice for a description of the other. Viewing, therefore, platen 50 and its associated structure, as best shown in Fig. 6, it is seen that the die 58 is connected to the platen 50 by a bracket 69 the lower flange 62 of which co-acts with the flange 64 on the die 53 to hold the die on the platen even though allowing movement of the die relative to the platen. The die 58 is kept spaced from the platen 56 by a plurality of compressed springs 66 extend- Brackets 90 extend laterally from the die 58 and slidably ing into recesses on the lower platen face at one end and into recesses in the upper die face at the other end thereof.

The die 58 is provided with a central slot and extending through this slot is an elongated metal bar or anvil 68, this anvil being positioned so that when the workpiece is clamped between the die 22 and the spring-pressed die 58, the knives 32 will just cut through that portion of the workpiece which lies against the anvil. The anvil is held in place on a movable bearing plate 70 by pins72 held by set screws 74. The plate 7i) is resiliently held by a plurality of heavy springs 76, each of which is positioned between a washer 78 on the plate and a spring follower 80 positioned on the upper walls of bracket 82 clamped to the platen by bolts 84. The tension of the springs 76 are adjustable by adjusting the follower 80 by means of screw 86. These springs are provided only to relieve any overload on the anvil and are not intended to be compressed during the normal cutting operation.

As best seen in Fig. 5, pins 88 depend from the platen and are adapted to be engaged within the bores of bushings 38 upon a predetermined relative rotational movement of the drum 21 and discs 46 and 48, such engagement being for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth.

the gear hub 16%. The lock pin is adjustably'mountedin'a housing 182 fixed on shaft .44. By this'construction when it is desired to let the gear 92 run free of the shaft, the pin 96fmay be removed from the opening 98. The gear 92 is here illustrated as 'beingYLone-half as large as gear 49, the, resulting two to one ratio. between the gears allowing the two female dies to serve the four male dies.

In order. for the male die and the female dieto accurately mate with their surfaces parallel and with their center lines coineiding'in the same plane through several degrees of rotation on either side of :dead center, and in orderto provide for relative compressive action between the dies', some point preceding the deadcenter position is selected as the first point of contact or true alignment of V the dies with each other. This point will depend upon the radii of the discs to whichfthe female dies are connected and of the drum to which the male dies areconne'cted. It will also depend on the amount ofcompress-ive distance required. In the illustrated machine, this point is 8 degrees from dead center. on the drum supporting the male dies and 16 degrees from dead center on the discs supporting the female die. In order to provide for this alignment of the dies, it is necessary to vary the rotational movement of the female die about. its axis. This'is accomplished by moving the female die along. a predetermined path for the space of 16 degrees from the predetermined point. The mechanism for accomplishing this purpose comprises a cam groove 104 in a track fixed to the inside of the frame IlL-encircling the shaft 44, and

facing inwardly towards the disc 46. This cam is ada justable and is provided with a removablepin 105, which is used to align the cam to the frame at a predetermined dead center position. This pin is withdrawn and the cam is looked in position by any suitable means before start-f ing the machine. A stub shaft 1%, extends from each bearing 54 and mounted on each of the stub shafts is a crank arm 19%, at the free end of which is rotatably mounted a roller cam follower 111].

The machine is so'constructed that the rodcing axis about which the female die rocks by cam action is placed inparallel relationship with the radial axis of.

the lower drum which passes through the center of'the lower .die during 16 degrees of rotation of the drum, this 16 degrees encompassing 8 degrees before mating of the upper and lower dies and 8 degrees after such mating. 'If

the two shafts 18 and 44 were geared together inra normal j manner the only positions at which the rocking axis of the upper die would coincide with the fixed center line of the lower die, would be at dead center and 8 degrees each side .of dead center with respect to the s'haft 18. However,

yond thedead center position. .In order for. thisaction;

to take place, the gears 40 and 92 must permitrelative motion during the 16 degrees movement of shaft 18 during the die contact period. This is accomplished by machining away a portion 111 of a predetermined 'number of teeth 112 on the gear 92,"a sufiicient amount necessary to keep these .v teeth. .from'firmly. engaging the. complex mentary teeth on the gear 49, thereby providing a certain 7 7 amount of lost motion at this time. The engagement between the guideposts andthe bushings, in' c onjunction'...

with the cam action, acts to force the shaft 44 and its associated parts into rotational angular alignment with the shaft 18 and its associated parts'where such correlated rotational movement is not. already present, the lost' motion connection between the gears allowing such action to take place. 7 I a e The perforation action takes place during the mating position of the male andfemale dies, the knives being forced through the, workpiece by theclamping pressure.

between the dies. After passing through dead. center, the

perforating point, the'workpiece remainsbetween the. dies until they separate, this separation taking place while;

the dies are still being'held inalignment with each'other by the guide posts and cam. When disengagement of the guide posts from the bushings takes place at 8 degrees rotation of the} shaft 18 from dead center,.the dies part, the

workpiece remaining on and'beirig carried along by the male die. Shortly thereafter, the workpiece is autoinati cally stripped from the made die by a mecha'nisrnto be subsequently described.

In order to maintain a continuous operation of'the machine, there must be provided an automatic feeding.

apparatus as well as an automaticfunloading apparatus.

The feeding apparatus, which wiLl bedescribed first, com: prises an endlessbelt type of conveyor 114l'shown in Figs. 1 and 2, running over a plurality of pulleys, one of 7 which is indicated at 116. The cartons 33, best shown" in Fig. 12, cornpnisingpocketed indented sections 117 and;

llsiand smooth section 119; are carried-Valongby. the con-v veyor 11-4.. while they are. in inverted position. It isnot necessary to provide any particular spacing between the.

adjacent cartons onfthe conveyor nor to have any particular sequence of flow since mechanism is provided at the feeding station to. automatically load/the, cartons on the V dies carried by the drum 21. v a

The cartons arefed from the conveyor 114 onto a second endless belt; type; of conveyor comprising'threeg" belts 120 where; they are held from further. movement in the path of the diesmounted on thedrum721 :by piv. otally mounted bars 122which are spring loadedinto article retainingposition by torsion springs 124,;mounted on shaft 126. Thebelts 120 are mounted over a plurality. of pulleys 128 in the conventional manner and maybe driven ,in anywaydesired. Overhead guide the peculiar formation of the cam-is such at this'area as V to rock the female die so that the center perpendicular axes of the female and male dies coincide. With con: ventional gearing, as the dies approach dead center with the rocking axis of the female die moving at a fixed dis-' tance from the axis of the shaft 44,-the rocking ax-is lags behind the male die center axis halfway to dead center,

then gradually catches up at dead center. The same relative action takes place in reverse as the dies go out of conjunction. In order to force the rocking axis to remain in the same plane as the male die center axis'so that the cain can move the female die in alignment with the male die at times during the complete .16 degrees rotational movement of shaft 18, the guide posts 88, which project from the female die enter-into the holes in the bushings 38 which are connected to the maledie at the initial 8 degrees alignment position.

beyond this position, finally disengaging at 8 degrees be- This engagement 3 cont u s an to h ea e en l posit on an -81 gr s.

- The stops 130, under'the influence of torsion springs 137,;

act to retain the cartons out ofth'e path of-the dies until forced out of such retaining position by the action of a keep the articles in a fixed path. v

ln order to'be certain that each article is'positively bars 129 under theinfluence of torsion springs 129A,

engaged by the leading edge of a die, a pair of overhead stops 139;,secured togetherbya tie rod 131 are provided to allow each article -to proceed intothepath of the die at. a controlled time inrrelation 'to the erotation offthe drum 21. ,Each of these stops comprises a s ringloaded bar ,which ismounted on shaft 132 rotatably p'o sitioned between brackets; 13:fixed on thelfr ame; Thebars 130: are provided with offset. portions indicated at 134, these offset'portions beingadapted to engage the-slots 13 61on thealeading edges of the cart'ons33';

camj138 fixed-tonnd rotatingwithfeachdie. QThislCai'nmingactionloccurs'when'cani l38i-comes into a position to engagea cainroller. 1.40mountedonan'arm'142 fixed? to a jshaftr144. .Alsod mountedon'shaft 144-i's -a= crank arm 146v ;while another crank arm:.'148 .is mounted on' shaft 132 in substantial alignment crank arm 146.

The shaft 144 is provided with torsion spring 149. The

crank arms 146 and 148 are connected by a link 150. As a result when cam 138 acts on roller 140 to rock shaft 144, shaft 132 is also rocked, thereby rocking stop 130. out of position and allowing the article to be brought into pick-up position against stop 122. The cam 138 is so formed that this action takes place immediately prior to the coming of the die to the feeding station. A pair of bent support bars 152, in alignment with stops 130, extend from the frame, these bars 152 being adated to support the articles as they leave the conveyor 129. Slots 155 are provided in the support bars 152 to allow passage of the stops 130 therethrough when being moved from an inoperative to an operative position.

It should be noted here that the dies 22 are formed so that their leading and trailing edges 22A and 2213 extend diagonally to a point, note especially Figs. 4 and 6. This construction enables the die to more positively engage and hold a workpiece as it projects from the loading station.

After the cartons have been fed to the machine and the perforation operation has taken place, the mechanism for stripping the finished articles from the machine comes into play. This Stripping mechanism comprises a plurality of stripper bars 156 fixed to the frame. These stationary stripper bars intersect the rotational path of the articles but are adapted to allow the free passage of the dies 22 by passing through slots on the ends of the dies. In addition, pusher fingers 158 are pivotally mounted at the trailing end of each die 22, extending through slots 159. Torsion springs 160 on the pivot shaft 162 tend to keep the fingers 158 in an inoperative position during the greater part of the drum rotation. As the article is being stripped from the die, however, a cam roller 164 attached to an arm 166 mounted on the shaft 162, comes into contact with stationary cam 168 mounted on the frame. This cam acts on the roller to pivot the arm 166 which rocks the shaft 162 causing the pusher fingers to move to a raised operative position behind the die. As each article, therefore, comes in contact with the stationary stripper bars 156, the pivoting pusher fingers 158 push it forward along the stripper bars to a position where it can be engaged by one of the crossbars 170 mounted on an endless chain conveyor 172 extending over sprockets 174 and 176 mounted on shafts 178 and 180. This conveyor 172 is arranged to be driven in timed relation with the drum 21 so that for each article released from a die there is a cross-bar in position to convey it away. The conveyor 172 may be pivotally mounted at one end so that it may be pivoted out of operative position, when it is so desired. This conveyor 172 may feed the finished articles to a stacking device, to a printer for imprinting advertising matter on the smooth outer cover portion of the carton, or to any other handling apparatus.

It should here be noted that, if so desired, the machine may be used to move articles from the feeding apparatus to a printer, stacker or the like, without perforating the articles. When no perforation is required, the machine is stopped momentarily with the two female dies situated in the horizontal plane intersecting the axis of the shaft 44. In this position they cannot contact the rotating male dies. Then clutch pin 96 is unscrewed out of engagement with the gear 92, whereby the gear 92 is allowed to run idle with respect to shaft 44.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. -This machine is not limited to this perforating job, but may also be used for pressing, punching, shearing, molding and other similar operations.

It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A perforating machine comprising a conveyor having holding means thereon for positively engaging a workpiece at a predetermined feeding station and conveying said workpiece to a perforating position, said holding means being provided with perforating means thereon in a position to contact the workpiece at all times during which the workpiece is on said holding means, movable clamping means adapted to move into timed coinciding 2. A carton perforating machine comprising a rotata- 1 ble drum, a plurality of dies, each having a contoured face substantially complementary to a face of the carton to be perforated, said dies being positioned on the periphery of said drum, a perforating means protruding from said contoured face of each of said dies, a feeding station at one position of rotation of said drum, holding means to positively hold an article at said feeding station in a position to be engaged by a die, said die having a diagonally extending leading edge and being adapted during the rotation of said drum, to engage said article with the contoured face of said die adjacent the contoured face of Said article, said die being further adapted to remove said article from said holding means upon continued rotation of saiddrum and to them move said article to a perforating station, rotatable means moving in timed rela tion with said drum and peripherally adjacent thereto, a plurality of backing and clamping means on said rotatable means, said rotatable means being adapted to move one of said backing and clamping means into an aligned position complementary to said die and in compressed relationship with the article held thereon, whereby said perforating means is caused to pierce said article, said drum and said rotatable means thereafter causing said die and said backing and clamping means to be removed from one another during rotation thereof, and means to remove the perforated carton from said die upon a predetermined further rotational movement of said drum.

3. The device as defined in claim 2 wherein means are provided on said rotatable means for causing said backing and clamping means, when it reaches a predetermined position relative to said die, to deviate from the of said backing and clamping means which is radial tothe axis of rotation of said rotatable means is coincident with that center plane of said die which is radial to the axis of rotation of said drum.

4. The device as defined in claim 3 wherein support means are provided to rockably support said backing and clamping means on said rotatable means, and wherein said means for causing said backing and clamping means to deviate from the former rotational path thereof comprises a fixed cam track positioned in encircling relationship to the rotational axis of said rotatable means, said cam track being adapted to act upon a cam follower connected to said support means.

5. In a perforating machine for perforating molded pulp articles, a frame, a first shaft rotatably mounted on said frame, means for rotatably driving said shaft connected thereto, a drum mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, a plurality of dies spaced from one an-v other along the periphery of said drum, each of said dies being rotatably movable from a work feeding station to a work ejecting station, each of said dies having a surface contour substantially conforming to the surface contour of the articles to be worked on, a slot extending centrally through each of said dies, said slot being substantially radial to the rotational axis of said drum, a perforating device removably and adjustably held within said slot and adapted to bear, upon an, article held.

on .said die, a second shaft rotatably; mounted; on .said a frame in, spaced, parallel relationship to, said first ,shaft and; operative in timedv relation, therewith a pair. of

' parallel support members positioned onsaid secondshaft for. rotationtherewith, a plurality of clamping members rockably supported between said parallel support members, said clamping members each having a contour,

substantially complementary to that of: said dies,- a slotextending centrally through each of said clamping members, said last mentioned slot being substantially radial tQthe rotational axis of said parallel. support members,

a a backing-memberiremovably andadjustablypositioned in said, last mentioned slot, said backing member being adapted toitake; the pressure, of the'cutting edge of the perforatingadevice when oneof saidfdies and one of said clampingmembers have been moved into complementary and compressive position by the relative rotation of said drum andsaid parallel support members;

6, The device as defined inclaim 5 wherein means are .provided to maintain; an axial alignment; between eachof said diesgand its complementary clamping member, said'axial alignment being in a plane which isradial to therotational axis of said drum, andtangential to the rotational'paths of said dies and clampingv members, said axial alignment being adapted to occurwhile said die and its complementary clamping member are in said complementary and compressiveposition.

7. The device astdefined intclaim 5 wherein sa d first V shaftis provided with a first gear adapted to mesh with a second gear positioned on said second shaft, whereby said second shaft is driven in'timed-relation with said first shaft, said second gear being provided with a predetermined number of adjacent teeth which are so constructed as to be free from meshingengagement with the teeth of said first gear Whileeach of said dies is in said axial alignment with its complementary clamping member.

8. The devicel as defined in claim 5 wherein each of saidclamping members comprises a pair of separate parts wherein one of said parts is resiliently urged 'away from.

the other, and wherein said backing membenis itself backed by a spring-biased plate, the springtbiasing said plate being an adjustable compression spring.

9. The device as defined in clairnS whereinmeansare;

provided ,to maintain an axial alignment betweengeach of said dies and its complementary clamping member,

said axial alignment being in a plane which isradial, to

the rotational axis of said drum, saidmea'ns comprising.

a cam whichtis fixed relative to said clamping members,

a cam follower connected to each} of said clamping members and adapted to coact with said cam to cause changes of the radial position of its respective clamping member relative to the rotational axis of said.drum, and engag ing members connected to eachjof said clamping membersand adapted to positively engage-with, complementary engaging members, on each of said dies during' a predetermined, timed portion of the rotational movement of the'respective dies and, clamping members.

10. A feeding mechanism comprising a conveyor, '2.

first stop biased toward a workpiece-retaining positionv and positioned adjacent the outlet end of said conveyor,

rotatabledisengaging means to positively disengagesa workpiece from said stop, a second stop constructed a and arranged to positivelyretain a workpiece in spaced position from said first stop and outof the rotary path of said disengaging means, and meansonsaid disengaging means, adapted to coact with other means connected tovsaid secondstop for moving said second stop from thetretainingipositionthereof so asto allow said workpiece-to beengaged by said first stop,- said-means on said I disengaging means and said other means connectedtto said second stop being so constructed and arranged as to a cause the movement of said second stop from said re- 7 taining position to occur prior to the positioning of said disengaging means in a position to disengage said workpiece from said' first stop. 7

11. The device as defined in claim 10 wherein said disengaging imeansiis a conveyor having spaced disen gaging members thereon, each of-said disengaging members being adapted to disengage a-workpiece from said first stop duringmovement of saidconveyor and to move it toward and then away from a workstation.

lZQThe device as definedin, claim 11 wherein each of said disengaging members is provided with a work performing member which is inoperative until said disengaging member reaches said work 'StationQwhich then performs the workat saidwork station, and which again becomes inoperative upon leaving said work station.

13. The device as defined in claim 10-where1n sald second stop is mounted for pivotal movement on a rotatable shaft, said shaft having a cam follower connected thereto, said disengaging-means being movable and being provided with a cam, said cam and cam follower'being adapted to coact forthe purpose of rocking said rotatable shaft which, in turn, is then adapted to pivot said second stop away from the retaining poslt on thereof. i

14. The devicetas defined in claim 10 wherein said disengaging means is a conveyor having spaced disengaging members thereon, each of said disengaging members being adapted to disengage a workpiece from said first stop during movement of said conveyor, each of, saiddisengaging'members being provided with pusher meansto push a workpiece awayfrom said disengaging member upon said workpiece reachingta'position where it is engaged by astripper means which acts to retain saidworkpiece from continued movement with said disengaging means.

15. The device as defined in claim 10 wherein said said workpiece from continued movement with said disengaging means, said pushermeans being rockably mounted on saiddisengaging member and being connected to a cam follower whichtis adapted to coact'with 'a stationary cam for the purpose of rocking said pusher means upon said disengaging member. reaching a predetermined position relative to saidtstrippe'r means, where 7 by said pushertmeans, during its rocking movement, acts to push a workpiece away from said disengaging member.

References Cited in the file of thispatent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 923,554 7 Mill lunel, 1909 1,482,350 j Dayton Jan. 29, 1924 2,561,826

Skillrnan July 24,1951 

